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Sunday, 3 January 2016

Forward into the past

It is not every day
that one gets a glimpse, let alone an encounter with a chapter in the history
of humanity which for many is merely another lesson in our development passed
on to us through the eyes of others. Recently, I was fortunate enough to be
part of such an experience and it was an eye opener. It happened during my trip
to Tanzania where I visited the Hadzabeh people (AKA Hadza).The experience
filled me up with awe and wonderment, intrigued my thrill seeking curiosity,
kept me pondering long after our encounter and prompted me to want to learn
more about this fascinating group of people.

When our tour guide,
Omar, led us through the winding path deep into the Eyasi bush past some breath
taking scenery of overwhelming cliffs spectacularly shaped as if carved by some
unseen celestial hand, I did not expect anything like what was about to unfold
itself to me. Nothing could have ever prepared me for it

There, next to a
beautiful tall Baobab tree, sat a group of people, unlike any I had ever seen
before. Their bodies were covered with Baboon furs. Some were holding spears
while others were adjusting their bows and arrows. Others yet, were busy
attending to their recent hunt as they were cooking their next meal over the
open fire. This was all going on while the background sound of click like
sounds were heard as the men were communicating in their ancient language. I
froze in my place dazzled by what I saw. It was all too much to absorb at once

Time stood still in that remote place. And “yes,” I thought to myself, as I was
standing there glued to the ground and slowly regaining my senses, the “Gods
must be crazy,” indeed.

Photo by Ophir Horesh

Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

“The Hadza number about 1250 people,” Omar explained to us. “They are the
smallest tribe in Tanzania. They are a nomadic tribe that originated from the
Kalahari Desert in the southern part of Africa. They live as hunters and
gatherers as their ancestors had thousands of years ago.” As throughout early
human history, the men are the hunters. They are highly skilled and adjust
their meat diet to the prevailing, mainly seasonal, conditions. During the dry
season, game hunting increases. That is the time where the men spend long
hours, mainly at night, waiting near waterholes in hope of shooting animals in
search of a drink. The weapons they use for hunting are bows and arrows that
are treated with poison extracted from the Adenium Cutaneum shrub. The women are the
gatherers and usually bring home berries, honey (which they get from trees and
which tastes delicious), baobab fruit (a seed with sour flavor which appealed
to my pallet) and tubers such as potatoes and other underground growth.

Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

Mostly short people whose height averages 4ft (with the tallest ever recorded
being 4.8ft), the Hadzabeh are genetically closely related to the Pygmies. They
are still in the first stage of human development, or what Omar referred to as
‘Primitive Communalism.” The term, as I later found out was first coined by
Friedrich Engels in his book “inOrigins of the Family, Private
Property and the State.” Though it is not the intention of this
article to debate Engels’ book, the theory of which some anthropologists
vehemently oppose, its main premise is
that in the early stages of human development,
society was largely organized around affinity
rather than economic relationships. And that is what Omar wished to convey to
us.

“They live in small
huts,” Omar continued as he guided us towards their sleeping quarters. Raising
his hand in the direction of the nearby mountains, he added, “During heavy
rains, they go up to the mountains and live in caves. They practice monogamy.
One of their more interesting customs,“ he added, ‘is that of choosing a
spouse. The popularity and esteem of a man increases considerably when he
shoots a baboon, preferably the leader of the baboon community. That proves to
his family and group that he is strong enough to feed them. A matured girl will
then hand a necklace on his neck as a sign of being selected by her to be her
husband.”

Photo by Peter Shaposhnik

“So how do they pass
their day once they have eaten, finished making weapons, or processing the skin
that they had just stripped off their prey?” I asked Omar.

“They just lay there, smoke Marijuana which they get from local tribes and
continue to rest until they are hungry next,” he replied.

The kind of life some may choose, I thought to myself, as we made our way on
the rocky path back to the Jeep. Not mine, I decided. But they know nothing
else and they are happy, they hurt no one and live peacefully in their
community, I debated with myself. At the end of the day, that is what matters.